Ordering business cards can often get expensive, especially when print companies require you to order a large batch, even though you really only need a few. By printing your own business cards at home, you can print smaller batches in a more affordable manner: for just the cost of the media and the inkjet cartridges. This will allow you to try out different designs, different wording, or even make cards for each of your many different jobs.

Find the Right Media

The first step in printing your own cards is to find the right media, as this will determine the type of designs you can use, and also the different software and online options available to you.

The Avery business cards page offers many different types of blank, printable business cards, with templates to make designing them easy. As the most popular option, templates and web services often integrate well with their media. Their “Clean Edge” option is particularly impressive, as they tear apart in a way that doesn’t leave unsightly perforations. They are available in stores as well as online.

Staples offers their own brand of printable business cards for both laser and inkjet printers. They are quite affordable but won’t be supported by as many software and online solutions as the Avery products.

Find or Create a Design

Now that you have your media ready for printing, you need a great design. You can use a software or online tool to create your design, or you can utilize free and paid designs from talented artists to kick it up a notch. Here is quick roundup of some popular options:

Avery Design & Print Online

Avery’s online tool integrates perfectly with their products, and it is the quickest and easiest method for creating card designs. Start by entering the product number and choose “Business Cards”. The tool walks you through the process of choosing a starting template and designing your card. You can even choose a blank template to start from scratch.

Photoshop Templates

If you really want bold and interesting designs for our business cards, you may need to turn to Photoshop. You don’t have to design it from scratch, however; you can utilize any number of free and paid templates from across the web. Start your search with this great roundup of free business card templates from Designrazzi. Or you can view the Cards section of the Freepik site, for example.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word offers the ability to print business cards, either one at a time or an entire sheet. Its functionality is very limited, however, and the templates aren’t very impressive. Still, for a very simple design, it is easy to use. See this Microsoft Support Document for detailed instructions.

Get Ready to Print

Once you have your design customized, you are ready to print. It’s a good idea to do a test run of one page before you print multiple copies. Read the instructions that came with your printable business cards and follow the steps exactly. Some require you to load them into the multipurpose tray of the printer to avoid bending, for example. If your test page comes out well, you are ready to print as many copies as you need, or customize the wording and other elements for a separate batch.

Do you have any favorite template sites or business card designs we might have missed? Be sure to share them in the comments below.

That was cool! Read what's next:

Steve Leigh

Steven Leigh has been enthusiastic about technology since he was very young, and he enjoys sharing his knowledge and expertise with others, through his writing. He is also a composer, a musician, and a singer, experimenting with the blending of technology and music with his recording and performance projects. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf and running in 5K races and is currently training for his first 10K.